Judgment Call
At the center of this imaginative, skillful novel is the late William “Bill” Dupree: Louisville Republican, husband, father, Episcopalian and devoted enthusiast of old-time railroads. In fact one of the judge’s favorite recreational activities is listening to recordings of the powerful steam locomotives of his youth. Appointed by Richard Nixon to the Federal District Court,…
NASCAR’s Rock Star
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is turned up to 11. In PR slang, “noise” is visibility and with that in mind, you could say that the skinny redhead from Mooresville is rocking out. In May he was featured in Rolling Stone again, this time writing about what makes the Corvette an American Icon. He’s back in Playboy…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Everybody’s Welcome A multi-media presentation by the Children’s Choir of Myers Park Baptist Church celebrating its 60th anniversary. Wed., May 21, 6:45 p.m. 704-334-7232 ext. 29. In the Beat of the Night N. Meck Community Chorus present their Spring Show. May 23-24 Hodson Hall, Davidson College. May 30-31 Mooresville Citizens Center. Shows are…
New Season, New Owner, New Hope
Charlotte Sting forward Charlotte Smith-Taylor has changed her jersey number in order to be constantly reminded of the approaching 2003 season. Having worn “23” because it was her mother’s number in high school, Smith-Taylor now wears “0.””0″? “It represents my personal motto, “Take no prisoners,'” says Smith-Taylor, who has added the “Taylor” since getting married…
True — Not Tex — Mex
The server looked panicked as she approached the table with menus. Before we could proceed, she gestured for us to wait a minute and then vanished. A second server soon stood in her spot. This time we had the chance to ask a question in Spanish about one of the entree items. She looked back…
Sewage In Our Drinking Water?
Despite the millions of gallons of raw sewage Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities (CMU) has spilled into creeks and streams over the past year, a CMU spokesperson says the public shouldn’t be concerned that it plans to build a sewage pump station directly upstream from one of the two intake points from which the county’s drinking water…
Grillin’ ‘n’ Chillin’
In the depths of the backyard, you hear beer worshippers’ emphatic cries that brew is the quintessential beverage for grilled food. But wine clearly kicks beer’s butt with food, so what’s up with that? People mechanically reach for beer when lighting up the charcoal, especially when they’re glazing the meat with spicy, tomato-based sauces, but…
Asphalt Plant May Move
Opponents of an asphalt plant scheduled to be built in the Optimist Park neighborhood near downtown may be one step closer in getting it moved elsewhere. But there’s still one big obstacle to overcome: City Council must agree on a sizeable compensation package being offered to the Ferebee Corp; that package includes a city-owned plot…
Goodeats
Dilworth/Southend 300 East, 300 East Blvd., 704-332-6507. Locals have long gathered at this casual neighborhood bistro in a vintage house featuring an eclectic menu. L, D $$$ Berrybrook Farms Natural Foods, 1257 East Blvd., 704-334-6528. Homemade soups, herbed tofu sandwiches, bean burritos, and freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices found in a natural food shop.…
What’s In It For Them?
This time, they’ve really gone and lost it. Charlotte’s leaders aren’t just riding in the caboose of a train with no driver. It’s worse than that. The train has wrecked and no one has bothered to send them a memo. This is that memo. It started last week when the city drop-kicked a $2 million-dollar…
Burning With Passion
If there’s a better sign that people everywhere are gobbling up the goth/punk/hardcore amalgam that is A Fire Inside (AFI), I’ve yet to see it. On the photo area of their website, the band has a subsection called “tattoo gallery.” Mind you, many of the members of the band sport tats — in particular lead…
Gone Too Soon
I hadn’t heard the news yet, so when I came home that morning and found some strange answering machine messages, I knew something was up. I never thought it would be so soon.Much has been said and written in the days since WBTV anchor Bob Knowles’ death last week at age 42. His story had…
Fund Raisers and Fun Raisers
Gaston College’s WSGE 91.7 FM will be conducting its first ever On-Air Fund Drive this month. The event will begin at 7am on Thursday, May 29, and will continue through midnight on Saturday, May 31. Throughout the three-day event, WSGE will infuse its on-air fund drive segments with music and numerous celebrity appearances. According to…
Goodbye, Ann
I just got word that (CL Associate Editor) Ann Wicker’s last day is May 16. For those of us who have had the pleasure of working with Ann at Creative Loafing, it will be a sad day indeed. Ann is one of those steady workers every business covets. Her smile, jokes and general good nature…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 5.21 BR549 — Hell yeah, a real country band in the midst of race week. While local country stations dole out slick pop-country swill, these cats crank out a killer show of retro twang. They’re not too shabby when it comes to rockabilly and straight hillbilly boogie either. They’ve dropped the hyphen (from BR5-49)…
The Blotter
Smash and Trim: Vandals gained entry into a barbershop recently by smashing out the glass portion of the clip joint’s front door. Once they gained entry, the suspects stole a cash register drawer, a bank bag, $800 in cash, and a pair of electric clippers. What a Coincidence: While taking care of some business at…
Soundboard
Wednesday, May. 21 Big Al’s Pub, Mooresville Scott Johnson Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band Comet Grill Anamcara The Evening Muse Clay Cook w/ John Austin Fairwinds Coffee Co., Cornelius Lena Mars Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium, Kannapolis Charlie Daniels Band w/ BR549 Graduate, Gastonia Acoustic Jam w/ Clee & Chris Sheridan Lynn’s Jimmy Austell Mama Mia…
What A Card
Nearly everyone has played the card game War at one time or another. Now, though, not only can you vicariously live the life of a rogue superpower warlord by playing a child’s game, you can be as petty and partisan as the real thing while doing it.When Baghdad fell, the US Armed Forces Command issued…
Rage Against The Machine
Apparently, it’s easier to build a better mousetrap than to build a better Matrix. Still, that won’t stop worldwide audiences from beating a path to the box office to catch The Matrix Reloaded, the second installment in this popular techno-trilogy.That The Matrix Reloaded doesn’t equal 1999’s The Matrix should come as a surprise to no…
News of the Weird
WOMYN’S WORK: In April, students at the all-women’s Smith College (Northampton, Mass.) voted to replace all of the female pronouns in the student constitution with gender- neutral pronouns. Although males are not admitted to Smith, many students apparently believe that using “she” and “her” is inappropriate for students who were admitted as females but who…
Irreconcilable Differences
While certainly no classic, The In-Laws is an enjoyable comedy that includes among its attributes a clever premise, a witty script that’s packed with choice dialogue, two beautifully matched lead actors, and a supporting performer who makes off with the picture like a Bechtel bandit in the night.But enough about the 1979 version. The new…
See & Do
MAY21WEDNESDAYThe Children’s Theatre Ensemble Company’s production of Buddha premieres tonight at 7:30pm in the Black Box Theatre at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte. The story centers around a rebellious son and daughter, returning home unexpectedly on the evening of the Great Festival honoring the Holy Passions of Buddha. Recommended for ages 12 and up. Other performances…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES DOWN WITH LOVE Trying to replicate those frothy Rock Hudson-Doris Day romantic comedies from the late 50s/early 60s was a clever idea; cross-pollinating it with the Austin Powers movies before letting it reach the screen was a terrible one. Indeed, it’s the smarmy, smutty humor that single-handedly threatens to torpedo this kitschy throwback…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: After three Long Island Iced Teas, I don’t know how I made it home, much less to the video game store, but there I was, psyching myself up to shoplift. So, while discussing X2 with the nerdy salesmen, I quickly peeled the security sticker off the back of a used Nintendo cartridge,…
HotRods In The Summertime
Stock car racing is hot. Forget sexy drivers and media hype, I’m talking straight up about the Fahrenheit factor. You sit in the stands for hours with no cover in sight, roasting between the summer sun and the sizzling asphalt below. The cars blast past you a couple hundred times or so, blistering your face…
Stargazer
For All Signs Mercury, cosmic ruler of travel, routine business and communications, turned direct on May 20. After a three-week period of revisions and reorganizing, the general functions of life will now move along more smoothly. Decisions, temporarily shelved, can now be settled and contracts are more likely to be workable. Aries Aspects favor travel,…
Man Dances, Back Goes Out!
Last Tuesday, there was a “The” band sighting at Tremont Music Hall. Locals The Talk were opening for The Sights, who were opening for the headliners of the whole affair — a great band called The Greenhornes. The whole “The” band thing is a bit ridiculous, both in media coverage and in the number of…
Jazz Divas, Dance, and Grim Puppets
Subtle new winds are blowing into the historic harbor of Charleston. Women have moved boldly to the forefront this year, while visual arts have been further marginalized, barely worth mentioning. So much happens at Spoleto — over 125 performances during the 17 days — that the festival always seems to be in transition, like Charleston…
